We are on the countdown to the start of the 2026 HBCU football season, with only two months before the opening kickoff.
With that in mind, here are five Division II HBCU football teams that should be on your radar in 2026.
Central State
In their first season under head coach Tony Carter, the Central State Marauders quietly fielded one of the top defensive units in Division II football, ranking highly in multiple national categories.
The strength of the Marauders’ defense was their ability to force turnovers, tying for fourth in the country with 28, including a conference-high 17 interceptions.
Although Central State will be without two key starters in 2026, namely Domonique Davis II and Mathias Davis, they boast tremendous depth which could lead to breakout stars within the unit.
The question coming into the season is how improved their offense will be, having ranked at the bottom of the conference in scoring and total offense last year.
Edward Waters
With all the changes surrounding the landscape of the SIAC, one team that could stand to benefit, catapulting into championship contention, is the Edward Waters Tigers.
Last season, despite dealing with an impromptu coaching change a month before the beginning of the season, the Tigers found a way to overachieve through their circumstances.
Edward Waters got out to a hot start, winning its first three games of the season, including an offensive shootout over the then-reigning CIAA champion Virginia Union Panthers.
The offense was the star of the show, averaging 30.7 points per game, including 32.1 points against conference opponents (both ranking third in the SIAC).
A full year under head coach Brian Jenkins Jr. should give the Tigers all the confidence they need to make a credible run at the SIAC championship.
Elizabeth City State
It has been a while since Elizabeth City State has contended for a championship in football, but the 2025 season was a step in the right direction toward that goal.
After a rough start, losing their first four contests, including five of their first six, the Vikings finished strong by winning their last three to close with a 4-6 overall record.
In two of those three wins at the end of the year, they scored over 60 points, winning the turnover margin 13-4 in those contests.
While competing for the conference title in a tough CIAA Northern Division is a bit ambitious, Elizabeth City State is good enough to put some of the top teams on upset alert.
Fayetteville State
Fayetteville State is a team that is consistently in the championship picture, and I think this upcoming season will be no different.
Last season, the Broncos were one win away from clinching a spot in the CIAA title game, but a slip-up in their matchup against Johnson C. Smith kept them from doing so.
With Johnson C. Smith and Virginia Union both seeing wholesale changes through their respective rosters in the offseason, this is an opportunity for FSU to sneak their way back into the title picture.
Sporting a new Offensive and Defensive Coordinator, respectively, and much of their roster returning in 2026, the Broncos’ journey to finishing the job will be a key storyline in the CIAA.
Miles
A logical person will look at Miles’ 3-8 record from last season and question what could possibly make them a team to watch in 2026. This is compounded by the fact that they started the season 0-6, including losing their first four contests by a margin of 25 points or more.
It is not about how the Golden Bears started the season, rather the high note on which they ended, winning three of their last five contests.
The biggest key to their success late in the season was their efficiency, shifting from committing 14 turnovers in their first six games to just seven in their last five.
In addition, Miles’ pass defense got sharper, limiting four of its last five opponents to under 200 yards passing.
If the Golden Bears can play disciplined football as they did in the latter half of the 2025 season, we could see a much more improved team work their way back into championship contention.
